Donner Civic Leadership Fund Fellowship
South Asian Legal Clinic on Ontario (SALCO)
Christian's work at SALCO this summer centered on researching and developing Public Legal Education presentations on various legal topics, namely: landlord/tenant issues, Canadian immigration law, and the criminal justice system. Christian also created educational materials to accompany each presentation. The presentations will be used by SALCO volunteers to educate members of the South Asian community who are in financial need. They will also be posted on several websites. Christian was also involved with researching, analyzing and creating a draft copy of SALCO's submission to the Attorney General of Ontario regarding Bill 107: An Act to Amend the Human Rights Code, and with the preparation of a research memo on the history of the legislative amendments made to the Ontario Human Rights Code since the Code's inception in 1962. In addition, Christian conducted an interview with a former SALCO client who had been the victim of a hate crime. Christian drafted a summary of this interview for use by the Ministry of the Attorney General's Hate Crime Working Group. Christian's experience at SALCO was further enriched by his attendance at conferences and meetings on behalf of SALCO relating to issues pertinent to the low-income South Asian community.
Christian writes: "... the Donner Fellowship gave me the chance to perform interesting work that was satisfying and rewarding.... [T]he experience that most stands out in my mind is my radio talk show appearance. As part of my work, I was invited to appear as the featured guest for a community radio program on Watan Radio, a Punjabi radio station that broadcasts 24 hours a day. During the 90 minute show, I discussed with the host new amendments made to residential housing legislation in Ontario. The host of the show would ask me a question or raise an issue (in English), I would elaborate upon the point (again in English), and then the host would summarize what I had said in Punjabi for the listeners. The experience was unique for several reasons. Firstly, it was exciting to appear on live radio and to be able to observe the inner workings of the control booth. Secondly, I found it interesting to gain a small glimpse into a new culture that is representative of SALCO's clientele. Most importantly, though, I was able to tap directly into the underlying goal of SALCO: finding innovative ways of providing legal services to members of the low-income South Asian community."
